Marelise de Lange is finishing her tenure as CFO of JSE-listed Delta Property Fund and will soon start her new role as Accelerate Property Fund CFO.
A chartered accountant with banking and listed-property-sector experience De Lange will begin her stint at Accelerate, owner of Fourways Mall, Cedar Square and the Citibank offices in Johannesburg, on August 1.
“I’m excited to join the company, the executive team and board in driving Accelerate’s new strategy, particularly with regard to asset disposals and optimisation,” De Lange told Business Day.
In a predominantly male-dominated industry, De Lange is one of few women who has held executive and board positions for JSE-listed companies including Texton and Rebosis Property Fund.
The board of directors sets the strategic direction of a company, with the CEO and CFO being the mandatory board appointees and the main executioners of the strategy. Executive directors are responsible for the successful leadership of the organisation.
De Lange and women including Monica Muller of Resilient Reit, Laila Razack of Equites Property Fund and Anabel Vieira FD of Octodec Investments are a rare find in the sector.
Data from PwC’s SA Executive Directors’ Report for 2022 shows that in the past 10 years JSE-listed companies have made little progress with representation of women in executive positions.
During the reporting period, of the top 100 JSE-listed companies, those companies led by women CEOs rose from 5% in 2021 to 8%. The listed property sector has two women CEOs — Amelia Beattie of Liberty Two Degrees, owner of assets such as Sandton City, and Jackie van Niekerk of Attacq, which owns Mall of Africa and Waterfall City precinct.
The number of female CFOs rose from 17% to 19%, while over the entire executive population of all JSE-listed companies women account for 15% from 13% in 2021.
The report notes that as the battle for skilled female talent intensifies, many companies are struggling to retain vital and critical skilled female professionals as they become targets for poaching by peers.
“Though De Lange’s resignation is unfortunate, significant corporate knowledge and management depth remains within the senior team and board to continue delivery against objectives,” interim Delta CEO Bongi Masinga said.
Masinga stepped into the interim CEO role in December 2022 after the resignation of Siyabonga Mbanjwa, who had been in the position for less than a year. She said the board had escalated and was expediting the appointment of the CFO.
Changing CFO role
De Lange said that the role of CFO evolved over the past 10 years. They are now more involved in the business than before. They now also have to focus on strategy, risk mitigation, technology advancements and be up to date with changes in the regulatory environment.
“All these changes present significant opportunities for CFOs to use technology to improve reporting and financial analysis,” she said.
De Lange said challenges for CFOs include a tough economic environment, uncertainty and increased regulatory compliance while still maintaining financial stability, along with increased risk of cybercrime.
The listed property sector, operating in an environment of rising inflation and interest rates, is finding it hard to raise capital as demand outstrips equity supply.
“Investors are looking for the best returns and sustainability before investing their hard-earned money.”
She said that other challenges for the listed property sector were tenant retention, debt reduction and rising municipal costs.
De Lange is an optimist who believes no task is too big or too small; solutions are everywhere, and one needs to seek them diligently.
“Over the years, the ability to adapt to any situation, focus on set goals, as well as nurture and grow talent have been critical to my career growth,” De Lange said, adding that tenacity, consistency and showing up every day were essential to her success. Her inspiration comes from seeing how other people deal with difficult situations and celebrate successes.
New leadership
De Lange is the latest appointment to join the company, after joint CEOs Abri Schneider and Dawid Wandrag who joined in November 2022 when nonexecutive director Michael Georgiou, stepped down as CEO.
Her accounting and finance experience, which spans more than two decades, includes financial analysis, modelling, reporting and structuring, corporate finance, investment banking, asset management as well as mergers & acquisitions.
Schneider said that in the past few months, the fund made significant management team changes team to bolster leadership and bring about a step-change in the business. The fund has also been working on resolving legacy matters, including related party issues and streamlining its management structures.
He said the fund remained focused on optimising the performance of Fourways Mall, which it co-owns, adding that significant improvement had been made to date.
“De Lange brings a depth of financial and property experience to Accelerate — she is an excellent addition to the team that will drive the group’s new strategy to unlock shareholder value, including through a disposal and asset optimisation strategy,” said Schneider.
Asset disposals
Accelerate has been selling properties in its strategy to optimise its assets and growth plans. This is where De Lange’s experience will be needed.
As a hands-on executive, De Lange said she likes to be closely involved in the operational side of the business, enabling her to understand it, its assets, challenges and opportunities.
Her financial services sector experience will provide a necessary basis to grow from. All the listed property funds she has worked for own similar properties albeit with different nuances, opportunities and challenges. Despite their differences, with De Lange’s passion for the sector, she says she is continuously learning how to deal with complexities and unlock value from each asset and portfolio.
De Lange served as a nonexecutive director of Delta from November 2015 to February 2017, and then rejoined the board as a nonexecutive director from April 2019 to August 2020. She then assumed the role of interim CFO. In January 2021, the position was made permanent.
De Lange started her career at Absa Corporate and Merchant Bank in the structured finance division. She has worked for International Housing Solutions, a property equity fund for affordable housing, as financial director and Vunani Group as group financial manager before moving into the listed property sector.
“My greatest achievement was assisting with relisting Delta after its suspension and finalising the restatements,” she said.
“Every property is different and tells their own story. Understanding the key metrics is critical in the asset, financial and portfolio management, as is working with a great team.
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